Market Tight For Used & Pre-Owned Vehicles

Car dealerships say now's the time to trade in your car since used vehicles are in high demand. (Credit: KDKA)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — July was a blockbuster month for used car sales, and if you’re looking to trade in now may be the best time to do it.

If you’ve been looking for a used or pre-owned car lately, you’ve discovered what thousands of others learn every day – a very tight market.

Doug Allen at Woltz and Wind Ford has been in the car business for more than a decade, and he says inventory for used vehicles is way down.

“We used to go to the automotive auction, and they would run 800 cars every week at the Ford sale alone,” said Allen. “Now they’re canceling Ford sales because they don’t have enough, and that’s every other week. Sometimes they’re only doing it once a month and there are 300 cars.”

It’s a common problem among all kinds of cars – fewer cars are manufactured today, not as many are leased and turned back in and the cash for clunkers program got rid of many cars.

“People are holding onto their cars a lot longer,” added Allen. “The miles are a lot higher when they come in; and when they come in, we can’t resell those vehicles.”

Gone are the days when you could go on a used car lot and find a decent car for $5,000, $6,000 or $7,000. If you haven’t been on one of these lots lately, be prepared for sticker shock.

“In Pittsburgh, they all look at it and their eyeballs get this big,” Allen said.

Paul Breitenbach of Wright Pre-Owned says prices are not marked up excessively – it’s just supply and demand.

“Some people come in and go, 17-9 for that. It’s what we bought it for, we shopped the vehicle, it’s what the vehicle cost,” said Breitenbach.

Salesmen also say today’s used cars are much better and last longer.

According to new research, used car sales increased 13 and a half percent last month, making it the best July since 2005.

The average price of a used car, including private-property transactions, was just over $10,000.

Also local dealers say if you’re looking to trade-in, now is the time to do it since used cars are in high demand, you could get a lot for your trade-in.